Car-coupling



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES L. ,VEBBER, OE NEENAH, \VISCONSIN.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 402,212, dated April 30, 1889.

Application filed December 18,; 1888. Serial No. 293,969. (No model.)

T at whom/ it may-concern: I

Be it known that 1, CHARLES L. WEBBER,

a citizen of the United States, residing at- Neenah, in the county of Winnebago and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Car-Couplings, of

provide a coupling which can becoupled or uncoupled with safety to the workman, which can be left by the workman at will in such a position that it will or will not couple, as he may desire, and which is adapted for use with the link-and-pin coupling that is in general use upon the railroads of this country. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an end elevation of the outer end of a draw-bar applied'to an ordinary which the link enters.

freight-car, a part only. of the end of the'car being-shown. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a draw-bar in which the coupling mechanism is "located, that portion of it being shown in section vertically upon the line as m of Fig. 1, the coupling mechanism beingshown in its uncoupled position. Fig. 3 is a similar view of the draw-bar, showing the coupling mechanism in the position it occupies when coupled with another car.

Similar figures of reference indicate like parts in the several views.

1 indicates a part of a draw-bar, the part broken away being connected to the car-frame in the common and well-known manner.

2 2 are jaws of the draw-bar. 3 is a hook loosely pivoted therein; 4, a cam pivoted in the forward part of the lower jaw; 5, a rod upon which said cam is pivoted; 6, a coupling-link, (represented in dotted lines,) and 7 the end of a car to which the coupling is attached for connection with another car.

The draw-bar is cast with a cavity into There is also a narrower cavity in which are located the hook 3 and cam 4. The jaws are closed 011 their upper and open in their lower surface.

end walls serving to receive the end-thrust of i the link when the cars are thrown violently together in the operation of coupling them. The cavity serves also for holding. the link in -a suitable position while it is being presented to the coupling with which it is to be 0011- nected, also to protect the hook 3 from being jammed when a coupling with a link in it is presented and it is not desired to couple, as is often the case in the operation of switching the cars.

The coupling-hook 3 is of such form that I no jar of the car will uncouple it. It has projeeting from its lower side a horn, 3, upon which the cam 4 acts, and by a partial revolution of the cam elevates the hook, which, by the peculiar form of said horn, the cam, and the cavity in which it is pivoted, retains the hook in an elevated position until such time as the operator desires to connect it to a link. The rod 5 is extended through the cheeks of the jaws, projecting a short distance, and its ends bent at right angles with its main portion for the purpose of ease in turning the cam. When it is desired to connect two cars, one of them having a link held in its coupling, the cars are brought together with some force, when the link enters the jaw of the other coupling, striking the outer face of the hook, raising it, allowing the link to enter, when the hook falls into its place, completing the coupling of the cars with no attention from the operator at the moment of coupling, and with perfect safety to him. The uncoupling is performed with the same degree of safety.

The operator has but to reach his hand in to the rod 5, upon which the cam is secured, turn it half around, and raise the hook, when the link is released and the cars can be separated.

I am aware that many couplings have been invented that are self-coupling in their operation when the two cars upon which they are located are brought together, and I do not, therefore, claim a selfeonneeting coupling; but

\Vhat I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a car-coupling, the combination, with the draw-bar having a link-opening, a cavity for the link leading inward therefrom, and link and earn cavities open atthe lower side of the draw-bar, of a hook pivoted therein, said hook having its face or front so formed that it will produce such an angle with the draw-bar when in a closed position that the pressure of the link against it will raise the same, said hook also having a horn extend 1 

